March 2015 - Arab American Association of Engineers and

AlMuhandes ‫المهندس‬
Monthly Publication of the National Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects
V O L U M E
I X
I S S U E
I I I
M A R C H
2 0 1 5
From the President’s Desk...
Dear All,
CO NTACT
AAAEA:
[email protected]
www.naaaea.org
P U BL I C A T I O N
C O MMI T T EE :
 Mo Fridy (Chair)
 Bilal Almasri
 Maha Alsadi
 Rami Asfahani
 Amjad Obeid
ALMUHANDES
E-MAIL
[email protected]
$$$
I had the pleasure this month to visit Chicago
and attend the annual event – Haflah that was
organized by our chapter there. The event was
great, well attended, and everyone had a great
time enjoying the food, the dance, the raffle, the
people who were there, and even the weather in
Chicago which was great. It was also great to see
our colleagues from Wisconsin at the event
sharing with our members in Chicago their
celebration. I also had the pleasure this month
to talk to our colleagues in Peoria during their
meeting and spent about an hour going over the
association business and provided them with
updates from National as well as listened to their
concerns and answered their questions.
This month has also been noticeably active by
most of our chapters as they start their main
events and programs for the year. It is great to
see that several chapters are holding seminars
related to leadership programs. This is an
extremely important programs to help in
building the future leaders of our organization
and community. Several other events are
planned with student chapters at different
universities to connect with students and share
the knowledge.
As I mentioned in my message last month, the
National Scholarship Ad-Hoc Committee has
been established for 2015. It consists of Moussa
Issa, our national Vice-President as the chairman
of the committee, Ziad Sabra from the Capital
Area, Ghadir Haikal from Indiana, Soliman
Khudeira from Chicago, and Aziz Aleiou from
Wisconsin. Stay tuned for more information
about the program coming your way very soon.
Keep in mind that
this program is
open
to
all
student members
of the association
regardless of the
chapter that they
belong to.
Our past national executive board member,
Basem Muallem, who chaired our national
membership committee in 2014 retired recently
and I would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate him and wish him the best as I look
forward to his continuous support of our
organization and especially his support of the
leadership in Southern California.
I would also like to take this opportunity to
congratulate Geed Latif who was recently
elected as the new president-elect of our
chapter in Michigan. I hope that everyone is
enjoying the spring and I ask for your
involvement and participation in the different
events hosted by our chapters. Please read the
remaining part of this newsletter as it includes a
lot of information regarding social and
educational networking events hosted in your
areas.
Together we can go much further.
Rabih Najib
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-Texas
News
THIS
ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS
AAAEA CALIFORNIA
Technical Seminar
AAAEA CAPITAL AREA
PAGE 4
Advancement in Communication,
Leadership, and Life Seminar
PAGE 14
AAAEA CHICAGO
2015 Chicago Fire Game Outing
PAGE 9
AAAEA Chicago
2015 Haflah
PAGE 6
AAAEA TRI-STATE
Technical Seminar—PAGE 12
ALMUHANDES
2
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-Texas
News
UPCOMING
EVENTS
SAVE THE DATE—ILLINOIS
The Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects of Illinois
(AAAEA-IL), invites you to our 2015, summer picnics.
Saturday 6/13/15
Sunday 7/26/15
Saturday 8/22/15
Sunday
9/6/2015
Venue:Ty Warner Park
SAVE THE DATE—DC
May 10, 2015
Annual Spring Picnic
Lake Fairfax Park
May 16, 2015
Advancement in Communication, Leadership and Life
Seminar
A full day seminar that qualifies you to 6 PDH units.
Sabra, Wang & Associates Office
Columbia, Maryland
ALMUHANDES
3
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-California News
Technical Seminar
The AAAEA-CA held its first technical seminar & networking of the year on February 21 st tilted
“Becoming Green-Blue City through Innovative & Integrated Water Management”. Mr. Adel
Hagekhalil, Assistant Director with the City of Los Angeles, LA Sanitation, discussed what the
City has put in place various water management programs to reduce reliance on imported water supplies and to prevent the discharge of pollutants onto and from its streets and storm drain
systems. The program is moving the City toward water sustainability and is being termed as
the Green-Blue City of Los Angeles Water Management Program.
The seminar was held at the Arab American Community Center in Anaheim and the new home
of the CA Chapter.
Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Tour
On Friday Feb 20, 2015, Mr. Azzam Saad, Contract
Manager with Shimmick Construction Company conducted a tour of the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement project (SFI Joint Venture) for the AAAEA-CA
UCLA student section along with the Seismic Geotechnical Students and professor Goodin. Mr. Azzam
Saad is the Legal Counsel for the CA Chapter
ALMUHANDES
4
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-California News
Congratulations to Haitham Aranki
On Saturday March 7, 2015, at the Palestinian
American Women Association's (PAWA) annual
event, our own Mr. Haitham Aranki, an executive
board member received the PAWA's 2015 Community Activism Award.
Haitham was one of the founders of many nonprofit organizations that catered to the need of Palestinians and Arabs. He is the founder of the Arab
American Center in Orange County, CA. He is
the Board President of the Arab American Community Center in Anaheim, Executive Board Member
of the United States Organization for Medical
and Educational Needs (US OMEN), and serves on
the National Executive Board of Birzeit Society.
Please join me in congratulating him on this award.
Janeen Obeid
President of the Board
2015 Semi-Annual Networking
Dinner (Saturday May 9th)
The AAAEA-CA Board cordially invites you to its 2015
Semi-Annual Networking Dinner. We are honored to
present Mr. Enrique C. Zaldivar, General Manager of LA
Sanitation for the City of Los Angeles, as our keynote
speaker. Also, we invite you to join us in congratulating
two special individuals from our community, Ms. Halla
Razak, Director of Public Utilities Department - City of
San Diego, and Mr. Amer Bata, Deputy Director of Construction - Caltrans District 11 for their accomplishments.
And for the first time in our history, we will be offering
scholarships to young high school and college students
pursuing degrees in the fields of architecture, engineering, or IT on this event in addition to our anniversary in
November.
Finally, we will have Sammy Obeid, the first comedian to
ever perform for 1000 days (1001 nights) consecutively. There will also be a DJ and a raffle. Don't
miss this event - tickets sell out fast!
ALMUHANDES
5
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-Chicago News
2015 Haflah
When : March 21st 6:00PM to 10:00PM
On March 21st AAAEA Illinois chapter hosted the 2015 Haflah at the Belvedere Chateau. The program started with opening comments from Issam Rayyan, the AAAEA-IL Activity
Chair, leading to other thankful remarks by Anas Alkhatib, IL Chapter President, and Rabih Najib, National President.
Along with the presence of AAAEA presidents from neighboring chapters, Rabih Najib
joined the Illinois Chapter at the Haflah enjoying the company of all members and nonmembers present at the event. Rabih welcomed and thanked everyone for taking their and for
showing their support by buying tickets to join in the event and also asked everyone to enjoy
their time by connecting with other people or by dancing with the music.
ALMUHANDES
6
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
AAAEA-Chicago News
Lots of recognition was given to different
student and young professional members who
volunteered at different AAAEA-IL events and
showed their support to the chapter.
Some of the volunteers are the following:
IT Student volunteers:
Abed Arnaout, Batool Al-Rifai,
Faisal Abu-Jabal, Ragheed Basrawi
Engineering Week Volunteers:
Hedaia Ahmad, Mohamed Esily,
Mouna Abdulrazzak, Batool Al-Rifai.
Big Brother Big Sister Volunteers:
Ahmad Issa, Rami Asfahani,
Mustapha Al-Obaidi, Fadi Al-Shareef.
ALMUHANDES
PAGE
7
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-Chicago News
Before dinner was served, everyone enjoyed a nice one round of fast Bingo that resulted
in at least two people winning simple gifts. Following the bingo game (still before dinner) then
multiple rounds after dinner, and during the 15mins break from dancing, lots of raffle prizes
were handed away to the people present the event.
At the end of the day, everyone enjoyed their time especially dancing the Dabki by music from DJ Firas. A lot of people won prizes including a 40” LCD TV from donated by Orland
Advanced Dentistry Dr. Sawsan Asfour and the event was a good fun and exciting success.
A. Rami Asfahani
AAAEA-IL Membership Chair
ALMUHANDES
8
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-Chicago News
2015 Chicago Fire Game Outing
April 4th @ 2:00 - 10:00 pm | $20
Due to limited availability of tickets we ask you to finalize your purchase by Monday
March 25th, before 5pm.
Any purchase after that time will not be accommodated.
AAAEA-IL Chicago Chapter is sponsoring an outing to a Chicago Fire soccer game
on Saturday April 4th at 2:00 PM at Toyota Park section 105.
Tickets will be sold at a discounted price of $20 each.
The invitation is open to all active and non-active members along with friends and family.
Last outing, we were able to make our way onto the field for a very nice group picture. We plan
on doing the same thing for this outing as well.
Tickets can be purchased at the link below. Please be sure to provide your name and number
when purchasing. After your purchase, you will be contacted to receive the tickets.
Thanks, and we hope to see you there.
ALMUHANDES
All tickets requests are subject to availability
and are based on first-come, first-served.
9
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
$XX$
AAAEA-Chicago News
Save the Date —2015 Spring Conference
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2015
Time: 8:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M.
Place: HBM Engineering Group, LLC
4415 Harrison Street, Hillside, IL; Room 306
Cost: $20 Members; $25 Non Members; Students are Free
(Breakfast Pastries and Coffee and Lunch)
RSVP: By Tuesday, April 21, 2015 to [email protected] and copy: [email protected]
Questions: Contact Dr. Mohsen A. Issa at (312) 375-8186
Save the Date —2015 Spring Career Networking
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2015
Time: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Place: HBM Engineering Group, LLC
4415 Harrison Street, Hillside, IL; Room 306
Who should attend: Graduating students, Unemployed or Underemployed,
You need a Strategy to find your next Job. Would like to know
How? Come to this AAAEA -Chicago career networking event.
Cost: Free
RSVP: By Tuesday, April 21, 2015 to [email protected] and copy: [email protected]
Questions: Contact Khaled Hasiba at 217-550-2340
ALMUHANDES
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
AAAEA-Tristate News
Calendar of Events
ALMUHANDES
PAGE
11
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
AAAEA-Tristate News
Technical Seminar
ALMUHANDES
PAGE
12
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-Texas News
Leadership Series Part III
When : Saturday April 11, 11:00am-1:00pm
Greetings!
AAAEA - Texas-DFW is pleased to announce its upcoming Event: Leadership Series- Part-3.
Southern Methodist University (SMU). Embry Engineering Building.
P R O J E C T Q U AL I T Y M AN A G E M E N T ( P Q M ) .
H U D A S H I H AD A , P H D , P E
Huda is an Environmental Engineer at AECOM (legacy URS).
She has 5 years of experience in the field of environmental
compliance including regulatory oversight, NPDES permitting,
SWPPPs, Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, EPCRA
reporting (Tier II and TRI Form R), and Pollution Prevention
(P2) plans for the manufacturing and transportation sectors.
Dr. Huda Shihada, PE
E N T R E P R E N E S H I P AN D E N G I N E E R I N G : A P E R S O N AL E X P E R I E N C E .
N O E L L E I B R AH I M , P E
Noelle is a Prsident/CEO at VRX, Inc. Responsible for managing several design and construction projects. Resident Engineer
for CTP section 5 from Alta Mesa Rd to FM 1187Dr. Noelle is a
winner of Luna Award- Established Construction Firm of the
Year for its accomplishment to win a major Program Management.
ALMUHANDES
Nawal Ibrahim, PE
13
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-Capital Area News
Advancement in Communication, Leadership, and Life Seminar
When : Saturday May 16, 2015 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT
Where : Sabra, Wang & Associates, Columbia, MD
AAAEA - Capital Area is pleased to bring to
you a full day seminar on Attitudes for Success, Goal Setting for Success, Time Management for Success, Communicating for
Success, Personal Financial Management
for Success, Change for Success, Interviewing for Success and Leadership for Success.
This seminar is offered to the first 25 people
who register due to capacity restrictions. The
cost is $50 for members and $75 for nonmembers. Make sure that you renew your
membership to take advantage of the discounted members only rate.
If you are looking for PDH units for your PE renewal, this seminar will provide you with 6 units.
Overview:
To have a great day and a great life begins with attitude. We explore being proactive, positive and in
control of your thoughts and your life. We address the importance of goal setting and how to write
meaningful lifetime and daily goals. We discuss the value of time and how to manage one's time most
effectively. We discuss communication skills for leadership and success. We discuss financial tips for
success and the time value of money. We conclude by putting it all together into how a great day may
look!
Bio for Joel Oppenheimer, PE (STV Incorporated)
Joel joined STV as a Vice President in May 2005. He manages the STV Baltimore office of more than
120 people and oversees the Transportation Department including more than 80 people. In addition, he
actively leads significant planning and design projects. Prior to STV, Joel spent 9 years as a Vice President and the Baltimore Office Manager at Jacobs Engineering growing the office to more than 50 people. He also worked at Century Engineering for 12 years and managed a 35 person Transportation Division for seven years of those years.
Joel is a registered Professional Engineer in Maryland and 8 other states, received his undergraduate
degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters Degree in Engineering
Administration from The George Washington University. He has 35 years of planning, engineering and
leadership experience.
If you wish to reach Joel for more information on his Building A Better Life series for presenting to other
groups, his e-mail address is [email protected].
ALMUHANDES
14
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-Wisconsin News
Annual Scholarship Dinner
Dear AAAEA Members and Associate Members,
Another year has flown by, and I hope that everything is going well for you and your families.
It is time again for our annual Scholarship Dinner. This year we are holding the dinner on April
18, at 6 p.m., at the Crown Plaza in Wauwatosa. Our tentative key note speaker is Congresswoman Gwen Moore, who will speak about diversity, and what the future our children will face
when entering the work force. Please RSVP for the dinner by contacting me at your earliest
convenience.
Also, I want to remind everyone that our membership dues are closing in. The deadline for renewing memberships is April 15. Please go to the local AAAEA website to renew your membership.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 262-893-8281.
I'm looking forward to seeing you and your family soon.
All the best,
Aziz Aleiou
President
AAAEA—Wisconsin
ALMUHANDES
15
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
AAAEA-Chicago News
Illinois Institute of Technology
Student Chapter
ALMUHANDES
PAGE
16
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
AAAEA-Chicago News
Illinois Institute of Technology
Student Chapter
ALMUHANDES
PAGE
17
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
18
AAAEA-Chicago News
University of Illinois at Chicago
Student Chapter
Just before spring break, on Thursday March 19th, the UIC AAAEA Chapter hosted a Seminar featuring
Dr. Said Al-Hallaj and Ms. Kapila Viges who came and spoke about Energy and Entrepreneurship. Dr. Al
-Hallaj is a visiting Research Professor in the Chemical Engineering department at UIC. He is the CEO
and co-founder of AllCell Technology which is a tech start up company from IIT. The company
manufactures lithium ion batteries. Dr. Al-Hallaj earned his PhD from IIT and his BScs and MSc at the
Jordan University of Science Technology. Kapila Viges is the Director of Enterprise Work Chicago,
which is part of UIC. She earned her BS at Johns Hopkins University in Material Science and went
straight into the industry with starts ups and technology based on economic development. She has had
an alternative career path from engineering to business and now supports faculty and staff with commercialization. This seminar was very insightful and educated students about how they could be entrepreneurs through using ideas they develop within their field of study, to open their own business. Dr. AlHallaj's main goal, with the help of Kapila, was to show graduating students what they could do if they
are passionate about engineering and the creative ideas developed within the field, but didn't love the
work offered. This is where Kapila came in and explained that at UIC we are lucky to have a center specifically for this. The center hosts many events to help students bring their creative ideas to life train their
entrepreneurship skills.
By the end of the event, all the students were very excited to go home and begin brainstorming creative
ideas to bring them to the center for help to make the ideas into something tangible. We really enjoyed
the presentation and hope to be in touch with Dr. Al-Hallaj and Kapila more, to gain more knowledge on
this subject.
Rund Daoud
AAAEA-UIC Chapter President-Chicago
ALMUHANDES
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
19
AAAEA-Peoria News
First Lunch & Learn Event
by
Rabih Najib, PhD, PE- President of NAAAEA
Mustafa Alsaleh, PhD, PE- Engineering Specialist at CAT
On 3/25/2015, AAAEA-Peoria Chapter organized a lunch and learn session. Members and supporters of the chapter enjoyed two presentations, lunch, and an open discussion. President of
Peoria chapter, Sami Lasassmeh, introduced our national president, Dr. Rabih Najib. Rabih outlined latest updates on the national level; establishing new chapters is in process, scholarship
program is about to kick off, seminars will be held by different chapters, national conference
plans, and the proposed National conference. Dr. Rabih encouraged the crowd to get engaged
and help grow AAAEA and get the maximum benefits out of it.
The second presenter was Dr. Mustafa Alsaleh. Mustafa shared with the crowd his experience
in building business expertise for engineers. He talked about value proposition and shed light
on how to evaluate a technology product, which was helpful to the audience. Both presentations
were followed by Q & A.
ALMUHANDES
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA-Ohio News
AAAEA Ohio Second Meeting
Greetings
At a warm and lovely Middle Eastern café in the heart of Columbus,
we held our second meeting of the newly established AAAEA Columbus Chapter. Not only, the seven of us enjoyed an extra cared for
meal, but also enjoyed socializing and exchanging jokes along some
professional news about upcoming and recently won projects.
Of course, we managed to talk about the main reason for our gathering, which was establishing and expanding this chapter. At our first
meeting last month, we asked each one of us to bring a friend or
more, so the meeting of four last month consisted of seven today, that’s almost doubling the
starting number. Munir and I, jokingly said, at this rate, will be bigger than Chicago in a few
months, Optimistic! Yes, but realistic. Some of the new members who joined us today have
been in the Central Ohio area for over 30 years, so they know people. Isn’t this one of the organization’s goals? Networking and getting to know people…
We look forward to our next month meeting where we will discuss an official kick off date and
filing the paper work with the state.
Here are the links:
Click to download your PDF copy
Ammar G.Salameh.
Chairman of the Steering Committee
ALMUHANDES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=deSGEES3jj4
20
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA -National Career Center Needs Your Help
Dear Member,
As you know, networking is a very essential component to any success in any
career. Engineering is not an exception. Over the last 18 years and since
inception, our great association was a great networking structure for hundreds
of colleagues in improving their career status over these years. Some landed
new jobs, some landed better jobs, and some business owners were provided
the opportunity to get in the market and advance.
In order for our Career Committee to expand its capabilities, and in turn,
increase our members access to top jobs, we are looking to members like you
to volunteer as a committee member on our National Career Committee for
AAAEA. We currently have no member from (CA, TriState, FL, WI, MI, IN,
Capital) in our committee, and feel that your local chapter stands to gain from
your participation.
Let us keep the momentum and build on the success of the past to serve each
other better.
To see how you can volunteer, please email Hosam Salman
[email protected]
Please share with us any careers, job fairs, scholarships, internships,
opportunities either within the USA or the Middle East. We would like to share it
AlMuhandes Upcoming Deadlines
ARTICLES DEADLINE DATE
PUBLICATION DATE
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
ALMUHANDES
21
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA Online EIT/FE Review Course
Are you planning to take the EIT Exam?
AAAEA-Chicago offers online EIT/FE Preparation Videos.
The videos were previously recorded at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) campus. The lectures
taught by highly knowledgeable professionals and experts in their fields. The classes are designed to
help you prepare for the EIT/FE Exam and concentrate on in depth reviews and problem solving of
each of the topics listed below.
The videos are streamed online and can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection.
Study, learn, and review at your own pace around your own schedule.
The EIT (or FE) Exam is offered twice a year – in April and October. Registration for the EIT exam is
done through NCEES. Please referrer to ncees.org for exam dates and registration methods.
Video Topics:
Mechanics of Materials I
Mechanics of Materials II
Mathematics I
Mathematics II
Thermodynamics
Probability & Statistics
Chemistry
Statics
Engineering Economics
Computer Science &
Electrical Engineering
Dynamics- I
Dynamics- II
Fluid Mech.
Instructor
Dr. Khudeira, PE, SE
Dr. Khudeira, PE, SE
Dr. Shuaibi
Dr. Shuaibi
Mr. Ashraf Al Hayek
Dr. Shuaibi
Dr. Aheda Saber
Mr. Grainawi, PE, SE
Mr. Bou-Saab, PE
Mr. Baha Al-Abed
Dr. Elqaq, PE
Dr. Mahamid, PE
Dr. Mahamid, PE
Dr. Mahmoud Issa, PE
Price:
Members: $100
Non-Members: $200
For More Information Email: [email protected]
ALMUHANDES
22
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
National AAAEA - Identity Brochure 2015
Click to download your PDF copy
Advertise with AlMuhandes Today
FULL PAGE AD
Monthly $50
Semi-Annual $250
Annual $450
Business Card AD
Semi-Annual $75
Annual $125
HALF PAGE AD
Monthly $35
Semi-Annual $150
Annual $250







ALMUHANDES
Quarter Page AD
Monthly $20
Semi-Annual $100
Annual $180
Send your advertisement to [email protected]
Include your name, address, email and phone number.
Please be aware that we reserve the right to refuse any advertisement
If we create your Ad, it will be extra $100 per page.
Payment is due at the time of advertisement.
AlMuhandes is published on the last Tuesday of every month. Deadlines are on Thursdays
prior to the last Tuesday.
AlMuhandes is posted monthly at the National AAAEA website and emailed to over 2000
members & Friends.
23
PAGE
24
Interview of the Month - Geed Latif
Please introduce yourself: education, career and family.
I am now a Project Manager and licensed professional engineer with Cornerstone
Environmental Group, LLC in Farmington Hills, Michigan. I have more than 12 years of
experience in industrial air pollution sources permitting, compliance management, and
environmental engineering. My work has particular emphasis on solid waste landfills and
renewable energy facilities.
I grew up in Baghdad, Iraq before moving to the United States. I am married to my
wonderful husband Amar, and we have two amazing children. I earned a B.S. in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Technology in Baghdad, Iraq. I worked for
three years as lab instructor in the University of Technology before moving to the States.
I had the opportunity to work four years as an environmental specialist with the
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
When did you hear about and join AAAEA?
GEED LATIF
Five years ago, I was invited to the AAAEA-MI monthly board meeting by Mr. Ghassan Abdelnour, a
friend who is deeply involved in the organization. At first, I was an occasional participant in the
organization’s many activities. I became a board member in 2013 after realizing the potential the
AAAEA has on impacting our community. During this time I was heavily involved in re-designing the
chapter website and established a network directory, which has helped our chapter reach a wider
audience and provide more services for our members. Because of this organization, I have had the
opportunity to meet so many outstanding Arab American professionals. I am truly honored and
proud to be serving as a leader in AAAEA-MI.
What is the latest activity in the Michigan chapter?
We held our 8th Annual Scholarship Award Banquet on December 5, 2014 in Livonia, MI. It was a
huge success, and one of the largest turnouts we’ve seen! The banquet is a great opportunity to
recognize outstanding leaders, while providing a networking opportunity to our members and
industry partners.
The chapter held the board election for this year on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. This is always an
exciting opportunity for the organization to grow and evolve to meet the needs of our membership.
Positions to be filled include President-Elect, Secretary, and four Directors. I was elected as President
-Elect for this year. I look forward to continue to serve on the Michigan chapter.
ALMUHANDES
PAGE
Interview of the Month– Continued
Please elaborate on the recognition you received last fall.
How do you see the progress of the association on the national level?
Although the Michigan chapter is only one of a growing number nationally, I think our challenges
mirror those of the national organization as a whole. We are working hard to maintain the existing
membership base while attracting new individuals. We try to address this by offering services like our
network database and resume postings, and supporting continued education through the scholarship
program. Another initiative I have seen not only in Michigan, but across the country, is the
commitment to provide support needed to newly relocated or graduated engineers. This has really
aided the organization in building strong relationships with members and strengthening the
engineering community as a whole. As a result, I see our numbers growing here in Michigan.
What is the best professional lesson you have learned during your career?
Throughout my career, I’ve learned that one of the best rules to live by is: “If you work hard it will
always payoff”. I can attribute an overwhelming majority of my professional success to putting in the
time and dedication to get something done. There is no shortcut to knowledge, nor can you
successfully cut corners as an engineer. Hard work can be its own reward, as I feel a great sense of
accomplishment when I see a project through to fruition.
If you have an hour added to each day, what would you do with the added hour?
If I have an extra hour each day I would definitely spend it with my family. They are one of the
reasons I work hard to advance my career and the careers of others in the AAAEA organization.
How often do you read ALMUHANDES and what do you think of it?
I always enjoyed reading ALMUHANDES. It is a great tool to stay in-touch with other chapters and
their activities. I’ve learned a lot by reading the interviews with national leadership, and am
consistently impressed with what others in the organization are able to accomplish. Having chapters
get more involved by providing an article every quarter would be a great addition to the publication.
ALMUHANDES
GEED LATIF
I am honored to receive the IBN AL-HAYTHAM award. The AAAEA-MI team has become a very
important part of my life. I really believe that AAAEA can make a difference in strengthening the
engineering community, and knowing that I can be a part of that motivates me even more. I am very
proud of all that we have accomplished this year, and look forward to continuing our work in the
Michigan community.
25
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
26
APPEAL FROM ALMUHANDES
ARTICLES
ANNOUCEMENTS
STORIES
PRESS RELEASES
PICTURES
INFORMATION
EVENTS
ENGINEERING
IDEAS
NEW CORNERS
Email your contributions to:
[email protected]
Monthly Networking Meetings – You are not alone! Dozens
of professionals attend our collaborative events
Members Only Discount – Exclusive savings on all your local
professional networking and professional development costs,
Job Opportunities – Don’t be left out! Exclusive job
opportunities in the USA and the Middle East
Monthly AlMuhandes Newsletter – Our monthly
AlMuhandes newsletter is full of information about the
community and the professional events/opportunities.
Continuing Education Programs – Gain confidence in your
abilities by keeping yourself knowledgeable and relevant as a
professional while also getting members-only free or reduced
cost PDH certificates.
Scholarship Program – Our scholarship program is growing
and we have so far awarded over $140,000 of scholarship
money to students all over the United States.
ALMUHANDES
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AlMuhandes Notes

National AAAEA (NAAAEA) is the publishing organization of
AlMuhandes; NAAAEA is a non-profit organization working to help its
members as well as the community as a whole.

AlMuhandes is downloadable FREE through direct email to all AAAEA
members & friends, and available on the NAAAEA Web site; any content
in the AlMuhandes newsletters is used for informative or educational
purposes only.


AlMuhandes is published on the last Tuesday of every month.
All news and articles must be e-mailed to [email protected] by the
Thursday prior to the publishing day.

All chapters must update their e-mail list in order to ensure the
distribution of AlMuhandes to all their members.

Rules for sending articles, pictures, etc.:
1.
Articles should be sent in their original format in any Microsoft
Office software instead of PDF.
2.
Pictures should be sent in any original picture format, and not
placed in a PDF.
3.
Announcements and email letters of any kind should be sent using
Microsoft Word format instead of the e-mail itself.
4.
Forwarding e-mails from “Constant Contact” should be done using
the Constant Contact “forward” button at the bottom of the email
instead of your e-mail “forward” button.
5.

We reserve the right not to publish any material sent.
Any questions, concerns or feedback regarding AlMuhandes should be
emailed to [email protected]
ALMUHANDES
27
VOLUME
IX
ISSUE
III
PAGE
AAAEA is going to
Boston- MA, ColumbusOH, Knoxville-TN, Baton
Rouge- LA
You can help by providing
contact information of engineers
who may be relatives,
colleagues, or friends.
Forward to Bilal Almasri
National Outreach Chair
[email protected]
ALMUHANDES
28
Picture of the Month
Architect: Moshe Safdie





Habitat 67 is a one-of-a-kind housing complex located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The building was realized as the main pavilion and thematic emblem for the International World Exposition and its theme,
Man and His World, held in Montreal in 1967.
It is built as a part of Expo-67.
It was designed to integrate the variety and diversity of scattered private homes with the economics and density of a modern apartment building.
The project was designed to create affordable housing with close but private quarters, each equipped with a garden.
The building was believed to illustrate the new lifestyle people would live in increasingly crowded cities around the world.
AAAEA Mission Statement
AAAEA is a professional Arab American association dedicated to help, strengthen, empower and inspire its
members for excellence. AAAEA promotes and advocates the Arab American Engineers, Architects and Computer
Science professionals in North America, by providing career and educational enhancement programs, technical
exchange, fellowship, and community service. AAAEA is a non-profit, non-political and non-religious Professional
Association. Membership is open to corporations, academic, professional institutions, and qualified individuals.